Engineering Commons^™

Structural And Electrochemical Characterizations Of Activated Carbon Derived From Corn Crops For High Performance Energy Storage Devices, Seongwoo Hong

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The recent attention given to supercapacitors has been driven forward by the need for sustainable and renewable energy resources in the global energy storage market due to soaring energy demand and decreasing availability of fossil fuels. Accordingly, biomass materials as electrode materials for supercapacitors have been innovated due to the characteristic of being naturally abundant, low-cost, and eco-friendly. Therefore, the various parts of corn plants such as corn leaf (CL), grain distiller (CGD), cob (CC), husk (CH), and stem (CS) as biomass electrode materials were prepared and then chemically activated using different masses of potassium hydroxide (KOH) as a chemical …

Cost Efficient Algorithms And Methods For Spectral Efficiency In Future Radio Access, Murat Karabacak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The growing interest in data-hungry wireless applications of mobile devices has led the cellular industry to look for new frequencies and new techniques for utilization of next-generation wireless technologies. As millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication becoming a promising solution, It can provide greater bandwidth and higher data rates in future radio access. While in the hostile environment of mmWave bands, the signals suffer from high propagation loss, the smaller wavelengths of mmWave frequencies make it possible to practically pack a large number of antennas with reasonable form factors. Thus, mmWave communication can provide directional transmission with high gain antenna arrays to penetrate …

Design And Implementation Of Solid/Solid Phononic Crystal Structures In Lateral Extensional Thin-Film Piezoelectric On Silicon Micromechanical Resonators, Abdulrahman Alsolami

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Achieving high quality factor in MEMS resonator devices is a critical demand for today’s wireless communication and sensing technologies. In order to reach this goal, several dedicated prior works have been conducted based on published literature at different frequency ranges. Particularly, piezoelectrically transduced resonators, which are widely deployed in commercial wireless communication systems, could benefit from greatly improved qualify factor. So far, their development has evolved from thin film bulk acoustic resonators (FBAR’s) using surface attached piezoelectric thin-film transducers with moderate Q factors to high Q resonators equipped with a side-supporting tether (anchor) attached vibrating resonators that allow the devices …

The Utilization Of Shared Energy Storage In Energy Systems: Design, Modeling And Optimization, Rui Dai

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Energy storage (ES) plays a significant role in modern smart grids and energy systems. With the advances of ES technologies, efficiently applying ES to energy systems has become the bottleneck for achieving the benefits of ES. The traditional approach of utilizing ES is the so-called distributed framework in which there is a separate ES for each individual user. Due to the inherent limits in the distributed framework such as cost inefficiency and space limitations, many studies have promoted to utilize a shared ES in energy systems to further exploit the potentials of ES. However, current studies always focus on maximizing …

Strain And Stress Relationships For Optical Phonon Modes In Monoclinic Crystals With Β-Ga2O3 As An Example, Rafal Korlacki, Megan Stokey, A. Mock, Sean Knight, Alexis Papamichail, Vanya Darakchieva, Mathias Schubert

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Strain-stress relationships for physical properties are of interest for heteroepitaxial material systems, where strain and stress are inherent due to thermal expansion and lattice mismatch. We report linear perturbation theory strain and stress relationships for optical phonon modes in monoclinic crystals for strain and stress situations which maintain the monoclinic symmetry of the crystal. By using symmetry group analysis and phonon frequencies obtained under various deformation scenarios from density-functional perturbation theory calculations on β-Ga₂O₃, we obtain four strain and four stress potential parameters for each phonon mode. We demonstrate that these parameters are sufficient to …

Tuning Degradation And Cell Adhesion In Next Generation Resorbable Implants, Ufuomaroghene Ikoba

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Osteoarthritic and bone degenerative diseases are expected to grow immensely as the aging population, 65 years and older increases. Orthopedic implants are one sub-class of medical devices that are used to treat bone breaks and fractures. Traditionally, internal fixation implants are manufactured using titanium or stainless steel. Magnesium, a bioresorbable and biodegradable material, has been proposed as an alternative to titanium and stainless steel. The goal of this research is to control the degradation behavior of magnesium implants by developing crystallized thin poly(lactic acid) copolymer films as protective coatings. To do this, this work was divided into two aims. Aim …

Blockchain Based Communication Architectures With Applications To Private Security Networks, Ashley N. Mayle

Computer Science ETDs

Existing communication protocols in security networks are highly centralized. While this naively makes the controls easier to physically secure, external actors require fewer resources to disrupt the system because there are fewer points in the system can be interrupted without the entire system failing. We present a solution to this problem using a proof-of-work-based blockchain implementation built on MultiChain. We construct a test-bed network containing visual imagers and microwave sensor information. These data types are ubiquitous in perimeter security systems and allow a realistic representation of a real-world network architecture. The cameras in this system use an object detection algorithm …

Gan Nanowire Laser For A Universal Atomic Force Microscope Probe: A Computational And Feasibility Study, Neal Wostbrock

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

This thesis attempts to establish the groundwork for integrating a GaN nanowire into an AFM probe resulting in a universal atomic force microscope probe. Previous studies have shown GaN nanowires have stable mechanical properties, can be fabricated at scale with high aspect ratios and very smooth side walls, and have intrinsic lasing capabilities; however, mechanical and lasing capabilities have not yet been integrated into a single AFM probe. Here, we develop and analyze a suspended waveguide optical pumping concept that can be fabricated and applied to an AFM probe cantilever, unlocking full potential of GaN’s optical and mechanical properties as …

Women In Aviation: A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Needs And Wants Necessary For Graduation, Eugene Kim, Jorge L. D. Albelo

Student Works

Despite the increased awareness of gender and race equality movements, today's population of minority women in aviation is still underrepresented. This research focused on underrepresented minority women who want to pursue a career in the aviation field and what factors affect their level of success in a specialized aviation higher education institution. There is not enough data and research surrounding the topic of minority women in aviation and their paths to success in these institutions. This qualitative research aimed to bridge the existing gap in the literature related to minority women in aviation and their needs and wants to complete …

Update On The Use Of Transcranial Electrical Brain Stimulation To Manage Acute And Chronic Covid-19 Symptoms, Giuseppina Pilloni, Marom Bikson, Bashar W. Badran, Mark S. George, Steven A. Kautz, Alexandre Hideki Okano, Abrahão Fontes Baptista, Leigh E. Charvet

Publications and Research

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in the urgent need to develop and deploy treatment approaches that can minimize mortality and morbidity. As infection, resulting illness, and the often prolonged recovery period continue to be characterized, therapeutic roles for transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) have emerged as promising non-pharmacological interventions. tES techniques have established therapeutic potential for managing a range of conditions relevant to COVID-19 illness and recovery, and may further be relevant for the general management of increased mental health problems during this time. Furthermore, these tES techniques can be inexpensive, portable, and allow for trained self-administration. Here, …

Methodologies And Techniques For Determining The Value Of An Aircraft, Bijan Vasigh, Farshid Azadian, Kamran Moghaddam

Publications

Aircraft valuation and the estimation of an accurate aircraft price is undoubtedly a challenging task that has significant consequences for airlines. This paper presents an asset valuation model to show how a series of endogenous as well as exogenous factors can influence the value of an aircraft. Specifically, a discounted cash flow methodology is used to forecast the valuation of an old or new generation aircraft. Both total operating revenue and aircraft operating costs are taken into account to devise a reliable pre-tax profit measurement that is used as the basis of the discounted cash flow analysis. A sensitivity analysis …

Real-Time Optical Monitoring Of Endotracheal Tube Displacement, Ramzan Ullah, Karl Doerfer, Pawjai Khampang, Faraneh Fathi, Wenzhou Hong, Joseph E. Kerschner, Bing Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Proper ventilation of a patient with an endotracheal tube (ETT) requires proper placement of the ETT. We present a sensitive, noninvasive, operator-free, and cost-effective optical sensor, called Opt-ETT, for the real-time assessment of ETT placement and alerting of the clinical care team should the ETT become displaced. The Opt-ETT uses a side-firing optical fiber, a near-infrared light-emitting diode, two photodetectors with an integrated amplifier, an Arduino board, and a computer loaded with a custom LabVIEW program to monitor the position of the endotracheal tube inside the windpipe. The Opt-ETT generates a visual and audible warning if the tube moves over …

Thermal Mapping And Evaporation Estimation Of Cochiti Lake Using Landsat 8 Imagery, Claudia Jimenez Arellano

Civil Engineering ETDs

Satellite remote sensing (RS) techniques have revolutionized the study of spatial and temporal processes in environmental science and water resources engineering. This study was focused on advancing the understanding of RS techniques to provide estimates of spatial variability of surface water temperature and corresponding evaporation rates for open water.

Evaporation plays a crucial role in water budgets, which is critical knowledge for water management, especially in arid environments. However, there are few methods to estimate its spatial variability, which is relevant because water does not evaporate equally everywhere on a large waterbody. Hence, we cannot assume the calculations of evaporations …

Incorporation Of Lignin In Natural And Synthetic Biomaterials To Alter Mechanical And Biochemical Properties For Enhanced Wound Healing, Jorge Alfonso Belgodere

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It is estimated that chronic, non-healing wounds affect more than 6.5 million Americans annually, with an estimated healthcare cost beyond $14 billion. Here, we attempted to create composites of natural (collagen type I or gelatin-methacrylate) or synthetic (poly(ethylene glycol) polymers incorporating a natural plant component, lignin, to combat the costs and limitations current wound healing methods face. Three-dimensional matrices of collagen type I (Col I) are widely used in tissue engineering applications for its abundance in many tissues, bioactivity with many cell types, and excellent biocompatibility. Inspired by the structural role of lignin in plant tissue, we found that sodium …

Modeling Distributed Source Control Infrastructure At Neighborhood Scale For Mitigating Flood Risk In Amite River Watershed, Ahmad Amin Shefai

LSU Master's Theses

Flooding has always been a major threat to mankind. This is particularly true in urban areas due to urbanization-induced increasing impervious areas and subsequent increasing urban surface runoff, causing an increasing flooding risk to urban areas in spite of the fact that extensive flood control infrastructure has been constructed. The overall goal of this thesis is to present a distributed source control infrastructure-based approach for mitigating the flood risk. The new flood mitigation approach is demonstrated through the model implementation of a series of distributed source control infrastructure systems in the city of Denham Springs at a neighborhood scale. The …

Sports Analytics: Putting The Fun Back Into Analytics, Walt Degrange

Operations Management Presentations

With the recent success of sports teams heavily using analytics (Dodgers, Patriots, Capitals, Warriors, Leicester City F.C.), does this mean that analytics has gained a foothold in the sports world? I use a k-means clustering model to determine if performance since 2015 in the four major US sports can support this question. And is there a career path that a high school student can use to become a sports analytics professional? This presentation attempts to answer that question by exploring all the areas of the application of analytics in sports. The final point the brief makes is that by using …

Incentivization In Mobile Edge Computing Using A Full Bayesian Approach, Sean Lebien

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The advances of multi-access edge computing (MEC) have paved the way for the integration of the MEC servers, as intelligent entities into the Internet of Things (IoT) environment as well as into the 5G radio access networks. In this thesis, a novel artificial intelligence-based MEC servers’ activation mechanism is proposed, by adopting the principles of Reinforcement Learning (RL) and Bayesian Reasoning. The considered problem enables the MEC servers’ activation decision-making, aiming at enhancing the reputation of the overall MEC system, as well as considering the total computing costs to serve efficiently the users’ computing demands, guaranteeing at the same time …

Rapid: Monitoring And Modeling Watershed-Scale Post-Wildfire Streamflow Response Through Space And Time, Belize A. Lane

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Fifth Generation Antennas: A Bibliometric Survey And Future Research Directions, Amruta S. Dixit, Laxmikant K. Shevada, Hema D. Raut, Rajeshwari R. Malekar, Sumit Kumar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

As the 5G technology is going to be deployed soon, so the research on the 5G antennas as a part of communication devices becomes an important aspect. One of the important components of the 5G communication system is an antenna that is essential for the transmission and reception of the 5G signals. The international telecommunication union (ITU) has provided different specifications for the 5G communication system. The 5G antenna should operate at frequency range 1 and 2 (FR1 and FR2) specified by the ITU. The proliferation of various 5G antenna designs is surveyed in this bibliometric paper. The bibliometric survey …

Cost Minimization Of Battery-Supercapacitor Hybrid Energy Storage For Hourly Dispatching Wind-Solar Hybrid Power System, Pranoy Roy, Jiangbiao He, Yuan Liao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This study demonstrates a dispatching scheme of wind-solar hybrid power system (WSHPS) for a one-hour dispatching period for an entire day utilizing battery and supercapacitor hybrid energy storage subsystem (HESS). A frequency management approach is deployed to extend the longevity of the batteries through extensively utilizing the high energy density property of batteries and the high power density property of supercapacitors in the HESS framework. A low-pass filter (LPF) is employed to decouple the power between a battery and a supercapacitor (SC). The cost optimization of the HESS is computed based on the time constant of the LPF through extensive …

Effective Hair Styling Compositions And Processes, Yiqi Yang, Helan Xu, Kaili Song

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Faculty Publications

This disclosure relates to hair styling compositions and processes , and more particularly to compositions for disentangling or crosslinking hair that are useful in hair styling processes.

Artificial Intelligence Enabled Distributed Edge Computing For Internet Of Things Applications, Georgios Fragkos

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Artificial Intelligence (AI) based techniques are typically used to model decision-making in terms of strategies and mechanisms that can conclude to optimal payoffs for a number of interacting entities, often presenting competitive behaviors. In this thesis, an AI-enabled multi-access edge computing (MEC) framework is proposed, supported by computing-equipped Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to facilitate Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Initially, the problem of determining the IoT nodes optimal data offloading strategies to the UAV-mounted MEC servers, while accounting for the IoT nodes’ communication and computation overhead, is formulated based on a game-theoretic model. The existence of at least one Pure …

Formal Concept Analysis Applications In Bioinformatics, Sarah Roscoe

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Bioinformatics is an important field that seeks to solve biological problems with the help of computation. One specific field in bioinformatics is that of genomics, the study of genes and their functions. Genomics can provide valuable analysis as to the interaction between how genes interact with their environment. One such way to measure the interaction is through gene expression data, which determines whether (and how much) a certain gene activates in a situation. Analyzing this data can be critical for predicting diseases or other biological reactions. One method used for analysis is Formal Concept Analysis (FCA), a computing technique based …

Hybrid Rf Acoustic Resonators And Arrays With Integrated Capacitive And Piezoelectric Transducers, Adnan Zaman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few decades, the usage of mobile communication devices such as smartphones, laptop computers, tablets has grown significantly. Clearly, smartphones and other mobile gadgets have been leading the current and emerging market thanks to the fast growing of wireless communications. Therefore, the wireless communications market is constantly looking for new ways to miniaturize the RF front-ends, while reducing the size, cost, and power consumption. Radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS) is widely viewed as a potential enabling technology for the multi-standard monolithic transceivers on a single chip with high reliability, high performance, and very low DC power consumption. …

A Framework For Assessing The Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, And Safety (Rams) Of Decentralized Sanitation, Adefunké Adeosun

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In established industry sectors, Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) risk assessments are normally used to compare the risks associated with different technologies on process units. Sanitation solutions are split into traditional wastewater treatment which is centralized treatment and can be classified as an established industry, and decentralized treatment such as pit latrines and septic tank systems which are on much smaller scales. Also they can be classified as non-conventional methods such as reinvented advanced decentralized non-sewered sanitation solution techniques exist mainly in two forms as “Single-User Reinvented Toilet (SURT)” systems or “Multiple-User Reinvented Toilet (MURT)” systems. Advanced decentralized non-sewered …

Coral Reef Restoration In The Tropical West Atlantic Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Linden Cheek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is increasing threats to coasts, both from storm surge and sea level rise. Healthy coral reefs provide reduction in storm surges, wave energy, coastal flooding and everyday erosion, and are found across a variety of spatial scales. Given the state of coral reefs worldwide, active Coral Reef Restoration (CRR) in emerging as a necessary component of coastal protection. CRR can be classified as a nature-based solutions (NbS) for coastal protection that also provides a multitude of ecosystem-based services to both humans and other life. Nearly all literature on coral restoration efforts assume a steady-state of human-ecological interactions, but …

Fuzzy Logic Based Control For Membrane Oxygenator In Blood Purification Process, Hany Hazfiza Manap

Student Works (2020-2029)

Membrane oxygenator in Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) is commonly used as a main component in Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB), Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator (ECMO) and Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal (ECCO2R). In this study, the focus is on Carbon Dioxide (CO2) gas exchange process in membrane oxygenator, which the CO2 is automatically controlled by adjusting sweep gas flow rate that entering the membrane oxygenator in achieving the desired pCO2 required by the particular patients. This automatic control action is controlled by the implementation of three controllers, Proportional-IntegralDerivative (PID) that is tuned by Ziegler-Nichols continuous cycling method, Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) and Fuzzy-PID controllers. …

Opto-Fluidic Manipulation Of Microparticles And Related Applications, Hao Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary biomedical technologies introduce many new instruments that are important for diagnosis and treatment of the patients. Instrument that can do rapid detection of bacterial infections, and further direct medical practitioner to prescribe optimal antibiotics is highly desirable. But unfortunately, this instrument is not available yet. Ideally, this instrument has to be portable to be used at point-of-care. This means it has to be small and inexpensive, but still highly accurate. Another critical requirement for the instrument is that the test results have to be available promptly. Because in case of such complications of bacterial infections as sepsis, each additional …

Design And Implementation Of Intuitive Human-Robot Teleoperation Interfaces, Lei Wu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We have designed and implemented a novel human-robot teleoperation interface based on an intuitive reference frame and hybrid inverse kinematics to perform activities of daily living(ADL) using multiple input devices.

Persons with disabilities often rely on caregivers or family members to assist in their daily living activities. Providing robotic assistants with easy and intuitive user interfaces to assist with ADL can improve their quality of life and lift some of the burdens on caregivers and family members. Current human-robot interface solutions, such as joysticks, Kinect based gesture recognition, and touchscreen-based solutions, including smartphones, are still far from being able to …

A Bibliometric Survey Of Smart Wearable In The Health Insurance Industry, Apeksha Shah, Swati Ahirrao, Shraddha Phansalkar, Ketan Kotecha

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Smart wearables help real-time and remote monitoring of health data for effective diagnostic and preventive health care services. Wearable devices have the ability to track and monitor healthcare vitals such as heart rate, physical activities, BMI (Body Mass Index), blood pressure, and keeps an individual notified about the health status. Artificial Intelligence-enabled wearables show an ability to transform the health insurance sector. This would not only enable self-management of individual health but also help them focus from treatments to the preventions of health hazards. With this customer-centric approach to health care, it will enable the insurance companies to track the …